Myths tell us that Dionysus came to Greece as a conqueror, accompanied by ecstatic disciples. The god of exuberant nature, wine and the so-called intoxication of dance and singing, called upon great resistance. Kings and city states refused to receive a god who wanted to dismantle order drastically.

To warn and punish, Dionysus brought all women in ecstasy and lured them into the mountains to seek an encounter with him. Outside themselves (ek-statis) and inspired by the god (en-theos: enthusiasm) they became one with nature. Women breastfed baby animals or threw themselves at lions or bulls and ate the raw flesh of the animals.

At Dionysus feasts, the archaic Greek women left their cities to worship the god in an orgastic atmosphere. Rather than any other god, Dionysus appeared to his believers in a very close and penetrating way. Although channelled in due course, this religious movement continued to provide ecstasy, identification with god and short-term luck of another kind than the regular, calm happiness in regular society.

Dionysus worshipping is characteristic for the development of religion in early Greek society. People had to leave the city to dedicate themselves to a god. In other words: the god provided them a way to leave their cultural and sociological framework, a kind of anti-social manifesto.

Also, the huge boundary between man and god was cancelled out temporarily. This was the first encounter with mindblowing experiences and uniting with a higher kind. Moreover, the line between life and death faded here. Death now was said to be "the end of life, but also a beginning gifted by Zeus".

The main effect on social boundaries was of course the position of women, who clearly discarded their subordinate situation.